Piccadilly

Piccadilly is a road in Westminster, London, located to the south of Mayfair and between Hyde Park in the west and Piccadilly Circus in the east. It evolved from a medieval road to Reading, and, in 1612, Robert Baker acquired land in the area and made and sold piccadill lace, naming his home Pikadill Hall. The road, "Piccadilly", became the main headquarters for the Whigs, and Burlington House became home to the Royal Academy of Arts, the Geological Society of London, the Royal Astronomical Society, and several Rothschild mansions. During the 20th century, Piccadilly became known as a place to acquire heroin, and it was notorious in the 1960s as the center of London's drug trade. Today, it is known as one of London's principal shopping streets.